Die casting apparatus



Jan. 21, 1964 F. T. HALL ETAL 3,118,196

DIE CASTING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 19. 1960 s Sheets-Sheet 1 alluunamunINVENTORS 1964 F. T. HALL ETAL DIE CASTING APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Dec. 19, .1960

ATTO/PA/L'Y Jan. 21, 1964 F. T. HALL ETAL 3,118,195

DIE CASTING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 19. 1960 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 w? w W k A?!i h W67 75 r [362: 5 T a V415 k 7 12! INV EN TORS jka Z/VQ/Z 6 BY @1220fluid/rev;

A from/5y United States Patent Ofi ice Patented Jan. 21, 1964 3,118,196DEE CASTING APPARATUS Fred T. Hall, Clawson, and Reine H. lvlustonen,Wixom,

Mich, assignors to General lvlotors Corporation, Dctroit, Mich, acorporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 19, 1960, Ser. No. 76,843 9 Claims.(Cl. 22-64) This invention relates to the art of die casting and moreparticularly to apparatus by which the cast article is automaticallytransferred sequentially from the die cavity after the casting processto a plurality of processing operations such as trimming, drilling, etc.

In conventional die casting practice, the cast article is loosened fromthe die cavity by ejection pins usually associated with the movable dieand the operator removes the casting from the machine by manual meansand places it on a conveyor belt, a cart or the like for removal to asubsequent processing station for an operation such as trimming,drilling and the like.

it is a principal object of this invention to provide apparatus wherebythe die cast article are cast directly onto a supporting arm attached toa belt, conveyor or the like and thereafter the conveyor is operative tocarry the casting through a plurality of work stations at which avariety of operations are performed on the casting such as drilling,trimming and the like. A more specific object of the invention is toprovide means for accurately and automatically locating or positioningthe cast article in a predetermined position at a particular workstation whereby the work is correctly and efficiently performedpreferably by automatic means.

In general, these and other objects are accomplished by the provision ofapparatus including an endless conveyor disposed between a die castingmachine and a series of work stations; a plurality of support armsattached to the conveyor to which the articles to be cast are castdirectly; and ball-like enlarged portions inte rally associated withsupport members which may be clamped at the various work stationsbetween locating members having a cavity corresponding to theconfiguration of the ball-like portions of the supports whereby thecastings are readily positioned for a processing operation.

Other objects of this invention will become more apparent from thefollowing detailed description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FlGURE 1 is an elevation view of die casting apparatus including aplurality of work stations and a conveyor means for transferringcastings from the die casting apparatus to the various work stations;

FIGURE 2 is a top view of the apparatus shown in FlGURE l;

FEGURE 3 is a side view taken along line 33 of FlGURE l;

PEGURE 4 is a partially cross-sectional view taken through e l4 ofFIGURE 3;

FEGURE 5 is a top view taken along line 55 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 66 of Z 'EGURE 5.

The basic objective of the present invention is to provide a mechanismfor automatically moving a casting from the cavity of the die castingapparatus sequentially through a variety of work stations whereby acasting may be cast and processed in an economical and efficient manner.FIGURES l and 2 show in a general way apparatus elfecting this objectivein accordance with this invention.

The apparatus shown in FEGURES 1 and 2 of the drawings illustrates theinvention in a general way. It includes .a die casting machine 10, acasting quenching station 12,

a drilling station 14, a trimming station 15, a conveyor apparatus 18for transferring a casting from the die casting machine ill to the workstations i2, 14 and 16 and a final work station 20 for removing residualcasting metal from the conveyor line casting support members.

The conveyor apparatus 38 consists of a pair of horizontally disposedendless tracks 22 and 24 in the form of angle irons as is best shown inFIGURE 3 on which the endless link chains 26 and 28, respectively,travel. The link chains 26 and 28 carry pairs of relatively closelyspaced cross bars 31? and 32, respectively, at equally spaced intervalsabout the endless chains. The cross bars 3%) and 32 in turn carry a pairof support arms 34 and 36, respectively, having ball-like enlargedportions 38- and 4d. The particular manner in which the carrier arms 34and 36 are attached to the cross bars 30 and 32 involves an importantaspect of this invention as will be described more fully hereinafter.Since each of the cross bars 3% and 32 and the support arms are ofidentical construction, these will hereinafter be described in terms ofthe cross bar 3%, carri r arms 34 and the ball-like member 3?; for thesake of convenience.

The link chain members 26 and 23 travel on sprockets 42 and 44 journaledon the shaft 46 on one end of the conveyor assembly. At the opposite endof the conveyor apparatus, the link chains similarly travel on thesprockets and 58 journaled onto the shaft 52. A driven sprocket 54 fixedto the shaft 52 is drivingly connected to the drive sprocket 56journaled to a shaft 58 by means of the link chain 69. The drivesprocket 56 is preferably driven by electric motor means (not shown).

The manner in which the conveyor apparatus 18 conveys the casting fromthe die casting apparatus is most clearly shown in connection withFIGURE 3 of the draw- The movable and stationary die platens areindicated generally at 62. and 64, respectively, and are shown to carrythe movable die 66 and the stationary die 68, respectively. The movabledie platen 62 is adapted to be reciprocably moved on the tie rods 76 byhydraulic means in a manner well known in the art. The principal diecavity 72 is shown in each of the dies 66 and 68 in broken lines. Thedie cavity also includes a vertically disposed tubular portion 74adapted to snugly receive the carrier arm 34 and an enlarged ball-likecavity portion 76 adapted to snugly receive the ball-like portion 38 ofthe carrier arm. The die cavity, of course, includes a sprue opening(not shown) through the stationary die 63 and platen and suitable gating(not shown) leading from the sprue opening to various portions of thedie cavity. These are not shown in the drawings for sake of clarity,although it will be understood that these are provided in accordancewith foundry practice and do not affect the character of this invention.Although only a single tubular and ball-like portion 74 and 7:5 is shownassociated with the cavity '72 for receiving a single support arm 34, itwill be understood that in a typical die arrangement the die cavityproper, in this instance the cavity 72, may be relatively large orelongated and several support arms may be used in connection with eachcasting to insure a satisfactory support for the casting. in theembodiment shown, two support arms 34 and 36, respectively, are used tosupport a casting which is elongated and oval in shape as indicated bythe numeral 73 of FlGURE 1 in connection with the quenching station 12.

The movable die as is provided with the usual ejector pins 89 which, aswill be apparent to those skilled in the art, are attached to an ejectorplate within the body of the die 66 which in turn is connected throughconnecting rods to a means which is operative to retract the ejectorpins 8% so that the ends thereof are flush with the die cavity surfacewhen the dies are in a closed position and in forcing the pins outwardlytoward the movable die when the dies are in a fully open position asshown in FlGURE 3.

The carrier arm 34 is attached to the cross bar 3% by the mechanism 32shown in FIGURE 4. This mechanism consists of a Wedge-like block 84journaled onto the cross bar 3@ for longitudinal movement therealong. Aball bushing as is provided which enables the block 84 to travellongitudinally of the bar 3% with minimum friction andwear and with theelimination of binding, chatter and the like. The carrier arm 34 isthreaded onto a plate which in turn is suspended from the top or widestportion of the block 84 by means of the vertical plates 3% and 91. Itwill be apparent that by reason of the slopin'g sides 85 and 87 of theblock 34-, the supporting arm 34 may be translated transversely to alimited extent with respect to the cross bar as determined by the slopeof the sides of the block 84 and it may be moved along the length of thecross bar 39. The cross bar 3b which, of course, carries the block 3-4is carried by the link chains 26 and 2-3 which, as will be apparent fromFIGURE 3, may also be raised vertically to a limited extent. It willthus be apparent from the construction above described that the locatingball 38 of the carrier arm 34 may readily be moved vertically,horizontally and transversely.

In performing a die casting operation in accordance with the invention,a pair of carrier arms 34 and 36 are indexed or moved into place betweenthe open dies 66 and in a position such that the ball portion 38 of thesupport 34 is approximately in position to be received in the cavity '76when the dies are closed. As shown in PTGURE 4, the pairs of carrierarms 34 and 36 are preferably linked together by means of a connectingplate 92 so that the two arms will tend to operate as a unit. When thecarrier arms 34 are moved in position as above indicated, the dies 66and 68 are caused to close whereby the carrier arms 3-; are moved intoan accurately aligned position by the locating balls 38 which, due totheir partially spherical character, will readily slide into positionwithin the portion76 of the die cavity. Any misalign- 'ment ormislocation incident to the natural limitation of non-precisionmechanical equipment will be readily compensated for by thehorizontally, vertically and transversely movable character of thecarrier arm 34. After the dies are closed and the casting operation hasbeen completed, the movable platen s2 is caused to move away from thestationary platen 64 whereby the dies are opened and the ejector pins8-9 force the casting 78 which has been cast onto the supporting arm 34as shown, out of the die cavity. As the movable die 66 is moved to anopen position, the carrier mechanism 32 is pulled along with it untilthe ejector pins 3Q eject the casting from the die cavity as shown inFIGURE 3.

A device is preferably provided for moving the carrier mechanism 82 andthe casting 78 to a point between the open dies as and from whichposition the casting may be eificiently moved to subsequent workstations. This device includes an 'L-shaped bracket 94 attached tolongitudinal'channel bars 95 and 93 between which the carrier mechanism82 at the upper level of the conveyor travels.

mechanism also includes a lever pivotally attached by a pin 1492 to thebracket as. The upper end of the lever Ebb connected to the bracket by atenn coil spring res. The lower end or" the lever loll is mechanism 32when it is in a die casting position. A transversely positioned rod resrigidly attached to the movable platen 62 by a bracket means 1&3 andreciprocably connected to the stationary platen 64 by a slidable bearingconnection ill? carries a collar 112 adjustably held in place by a setscrew 114. The rod res is located'adjacentthe lever lot} so that whenthe collar 112 is moved across the location of the lever 1%, the collar112 engages the lever causing the'lower portion of the lever to engagethe supporting mechanism 82.

The operation of this mechanism is as follows. At the onset of thecasting operation, the carrier mechanism 82 ti the normal horizontalline of travel of the p 93 is located in a suitable position to beginthe casting operation. The movable die 66 is thereupon moved to the leftinto a die closed position. In this movement the ejector pins 8% aremoved to a position flush with the die cavity and the supportingmechanism 82 is carried to the right toward the stationary die 6 Asdescribed above, the substantially universal movement of which thesupporting ball 38 is capable permits the carrier arm 34 to beaccurately located within the cavity portion 74, the dies are closed andmolten metal is ejected into the die cavity. As a consequence of themetal casting operation, a portion of the casting is cast around the endof the support arm 34- and attached thereto. The movable die is thencausec to move to its open position. As a consequence of this movementas previously described, the supporting mechanism 84 is carried to theleft. This also causes the collar 112 on the rod 1% to be likewise movedto the left. in the course or" its travel, the collar M2 engages thelever 1% thereby subjecting the carrier mechanism to a horizontal forceto return it to its original intermediate position after being releasedfrom the die cavity by the ejector pins 8%.

The conveyor is next indexed to move the casting over a quenching tank12 as shown in PGURE 1. After the casting 78 comes to rest over thequenching tank, the

elevator mechanism 13 raises the quenching tank 12 so that the quenchingwater therein envelops the casting 78. The machine is then indexed andthe casting 73 is advanced to the drilling station 14.

The drilling station 14 consists basically of clamping means for holdingthe casting a pre etermined position and a drilling device 116 driven bythe electric motor 118 which may be advanced against the casting toperform the required drilling operation. The nature of this work stationwill be apparent from the description of the subsequent trimming station16 which is shown in greater detail in FIGURES 5 and 6. The means forsupporting the casting in the proper position within the drillingstation 14 may be identical with that to be described hereinafter inconnection with the trirmning station 16.

As shown in FIGURLS 5 and 6, the trimming station includes ahorizontally movable platen 120 and a stationary platen 122. Thestationary platen 122 is mounted on a vertical support 124 which in turnis mounted on a horizontal base 126 having an opening 1'23 through whichtrimmed castings may drop to a suitable receptacle after the trimmingoperation. A cutting trim die 13%) is bolted to the stationary platen122 in a vertical operating position. A locating plate 13-2 connected toa rod 134 having a collar 136 is journaled for longitudinal movementwithin the U-shaped bracket 133 attached to the vertical support 124- ina manner such that the collar 136 functions to limit the movement of therod 134 between the legs of the U-shaped member 138. A compression coilspring 14s normally urges the locating plate 132 toward the movableplaten 12b.

The movable platen lit has attached thereto a die supporting plate 3A2which in turn supports the complementary anvil portion 144 of the die.The movable die platen 12b rides on the horizontal tie rods 145 and ispower driven reciprocably by hydraulic piston means attached to theconnecting rod 148. A second complementary locating plate or block ismounted on the movable platen 12% by means of the horizontal plate 152.The locating plate 154 has a partially cylindrical and partiallyspherical depression 151 adapted to snugly receive the locating ball 38and support arm 34. The locating block 132 is provided with a partiallycylindrical, horizontally disposed channel 133. V V

The operation of the trimming station is as follows. When the casting isindexed from the drilling station 14, the locating ball 33 glides intothe channel 133 in the locating block 132. To this end, the collar 136'is adjusted to permit the block 132 to extend a distance toward the lineof travel of the support arm 34 such that the locating ball 3-8 willglide into the groove 13-3. Next, the movable platen 132 is caused tomove toward the stationary platen 122. This causes the locating block150 to engage the locating ball 38. As the movement to the left iscontinued, the coil spring 140 is compressed and the casting is movedtoward the trimming die 130. At the instant or just prior to the timewhen the dies 13% and 144 engage the casting in the cutting operation,the cating ball 33 has been snugly positioned between the partiallyspherical depression 151 of the moving locating plate 15% and the grooveof the locating plate 132 which has become stationary due to the collar1% abutting against the opposite leg of the bracket 138. It will beobvious that the locating blocks 15% and 132 cooperate with the locatingball 38 to locate the casting accurately for the trimming operation.

After the trimming operation, the platen 120 is moved to an openposition and the coil spring 140 is effective to move the support arm 34to its centered position from whence it may be moved to the nextstation. in the embodiment of the invention shown, the casting has nowbeen out free of the gating and the castin offal by which it is attachedto the support arm 38 and the casting is now moved to the final station20. This station consists merely of gas jets 154 which are arranged in aposition suitable to play a hot flame on the remaining casting offal soas to expand and strip all of the casting metal from the support arms 34into the receptacle 156.

It will, of course, be understood by those skilled in the art that theparticular work stations illustrated herein are intended forillustrative purposes. More work stations may be added to the apparatusand some of the work stations may, if desired, be omitted. Variousportions or the apparatus may be adapted for casting other plasticmaterials such as synthetic resins and the like. It will also beunderstood that the particular operations including the quenching,drilling and trimming operations may be operated automatically inresponse to suitable electrical control mechanisms as is wel known inthe art.

Although the invention has been described with speciiic reference to aparticular embodiment, it is not intended to be so limited since changesand alterations may be made therein which are Within the full intendedscope of the invention as deiined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Forming apparatus comprising a die casting machine and carrier meansfor carrying a casting from the cavity of said die casting machine to aplurality of work stations, said die casting machine comprisingcomplementary movable and stationary dies defining a cavity thereoetweensaid dies including a tubular passage at the interface thereof extendingfrom said cavity to a point outside said dies, said passage havin anenlarged hallshaped portion between said cavity and said point, saidcarrier means including a conveyor mechanism and a carrier arm attachedthereto adapted to extend snugly through the tubular passage of saiddies and into said cavity in one position of said conveyor mechanism,said carrier arm having a ball-shaped enlarged portion adapted to besnugly received and urged within the enlarged portion of said passagewhen said dies are closed, said carrier means including support meanspermitting said carrier arm sutlicient movement in all planes wherebysaid carrier ball shaped portion is snugly received in said enlargedportion of said passage as said dies are closed.

2. Metal forming apparatus including a die casting machine, a conveyormeans for conveying castings from the cavity of said die casting machineto a plurality of Work stations, said die casting machine includingstationary and movable dies defining a cavity therebetwe-en, said diesincluding a tubular passage at the interface of said dies extendingvertically from said die cavity to a point outside of said dies, saidtubular passage having an enlarged portion therein, flexible endlesscarrier means mounted over said dies adapted to move in a planeperpendicular to the plan in which said movable die moves, a transversebar mounted on said carrier means adapted to be moved to a predeterminedposition over said dies and being capable of limited vertical motion dueto the flexibility of said carrier means, a support arm slidably mountedon said bar and adapted to be moved along said bar and snugly receivedWithin said passage and to extend into said cavity when the dies areclosed, said support arm having an enlarged ball-like portion adapted tobe snugly received and urged within said enlarged portion of saidpassage when said dies are closed, said support arm being mounted onsaid bar by means permitting movement of said ball portion relative tosaid bar in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of said bar.

3. Metal forming apparatus including a die casting machine, a conveyormeans for carrying castings from the cavity of said die casting machineto a plurality of work stations, said die casting machine includingstationary and movable dies defining a cavity therebetween, said diesincluding a tubular passage at the interface of said dies extendingvertically from said die cavity to a point outside of said dies, saidtubular passage having an enlarged portion therein, flexible endlesscarrier means mounted over said dies for movement in a directiontransverse to the direction of movement of said movable die, a barmounted on said carrier means adapted to be carried over said dies andto be stopped in a predetermined position over said dies andperpendicular to the plane in which said movable die moves, a supportarm adapted to be snugly received within said passage and to extend intosaid cavity and having an enlarged ball-like portion adapted to besnugly received within said enlarged portion of said passage, and meansfor mounting said support on said bar permitting the said support toslide therealong and to move relative to said bar in a directiontransversely to the longitudinal axis thereof said carrier arm havinglimited vertical movement due to the flexibility of said carrier means.

4. Metal forming apparatus including a die casting machine, a conveyormeans for carrying cast'ngs from the cavity of said die casting machineto a plurality of work stations, said die casting machine includingstationary and movable dies defining a cavity therebetween, said diesincluding a tubular passage at the interface of said dies extendingvertically from said die cavity to a point outside of said dies, saidtubular passage having an enlarged portion therein, flexible endlesscarrier means mounted over said dies for movement transverse to thedirection of movement of said movable die, a plurality of bars mountedon said carrier means in spaced relation and in a position perpendicularto the plane of movement or" said movable die and a support arm slidablymounted on each of said bars, said support arm being adapted to besnugly received within said passage and to extend into said cavity, saidsupport arm having a locating enlarged ball-like portion adapted to hereceived Within said enlarged portion of said tubular passage when oneof said bars is moved to a die operating position and said dies aremoved into a closed position, the mounting of said support arm on saidcarrier means including means for permitting said support arm to movetransversely relative to the longitudinal axis of said bar, said supportarm being capable of limited vertical movement due to the flexibility ofsaid carrier means.

5. Metal forming apparatus including a die casting machine, a conveyormeans for conveying castings from the cavity of said die casting machineto a plurality of work stations, said die casting machine including sta7O tionary and movable dies defining a cavity therebetween,

direction of movement of said movable die, a bar mounted on said carriermeans adapted to be positioned over said dies in a positionperpendicular to the direction of movement or" said movable die, asupport arm having an enlarged ball-like portion adapted to be snuglyreceived within said passage and to extend into said cavity when saidball-like portion is received Within said enlarged portion, means formounting said support arm on said bar which permits slidable movementthereof along said bar and movement of said carrier arm in a directiontransverse to the longitudinal axis of said bar, said carrier arm beingcapable of vertical movement when said dies are moved into a closedposition due to the flexibil y of said carrier means whereby saidballlike portion may be urged within said enlarged portion of said diesby said movable die as it is moved into a closed position.

6. Metal forming apparatus including a die casting machine, a conveyormeans for carrying castings from the cavity of said die casting machineto a plurality of work stations, said die casting machine includingstationary and movable dies defining a cavity thcrehetween, said diesincluding a tubular passage having an enlarged portion therein extendingvertically from said die cavity at the interface of said dies to a pointoutside of said ies, a flexible endless chain carrier means mounted oversaid dies for movement transverse to the direction of the movement ofsaid movable die, a bar attached to said endless chain means adapted tobe supported over said die cavity in one position of said carrier means,a support arm having an enlarged ball-like portion adapted to be snuglyreceived Within said tubular passage and to extend into said cavity whensaid ball-like portion is reeive'd within said enlarged portion, andmeans for mounting said support arm on said oar permitting slidablemovement of the support arm along said bar and movement thereof relativeto the longitudinal axis of said bar in a direction transverse of saidbar.

7. Metal forming apparatus including a die casting machine, a conveyormeans for carrying castings from the cavity of said die casting machineto a pl ality of Work stations, said die casting machine includingstationary and movable dies defining a cavity therebetween, said diesincluding a tubular passage having an enlarged portion therein extendingvertically from said die cavity at the interface of said dies to a pointoutside of said dies, an endless flexible carrier means comprising apair of spaced endless chains slidahly mounted on spaced tracks mountedover said dies for movement transverse to the direction of the movementof said movable die, a transverse bar mounted across said chains adaptedto be supported'over said die cavity in one position of said carriermeans, a support having an enlarged balllilte portion adapted to besnugly received within said passage and to extend into said cavity whensaid balllike portion is received Within said enlarged portion, meansfor mounting said support arm on said bar permitting slidahle movementof the support arm along said bar and movement thereof relative to saidbar in a direction transverse to the longitudinal axis of said bar,

horizontal plate and said blocl; v /hereby 8 said support arm is capableof movement transverse to the longitudinal axis of said bar.

8. Metal forming apparatus including a die casting machine, a conveyormeans for carrying castings from the cavity of said die casting machineto a plurality of work stations, said die casting machine includingstationary and movable dies defining a cavity therebetween, said diesincluding a plurality of tubular passages each having an enlargedportion therein extending vertically from said die cavity at theinterface of said dies to a point outside of said dies, an endlessflexible carrier means mounted over said dies for movement transverse tothe direction of the movement of said movable die, a bar mounted on saidcarrier means in a position transverse to the direction of movement ofsaid carrier means adapted to be supported over said die cavity in oneposition of said carrier means, a plurality of support arms havingenlarged ball-like portions adapted to he snugly received within saidpassages and to extend into said cavity when said ball-like portions arereceived within said enlarged portions, means for mounting said supportarms on said bar permitting slidable movement of the support arms alongsaid bar and movement thereof relative to said bar in a directiontransverse to the longitudinal axis of said bar, and connector meanscoupling said support arm.

9. Metal forming apparatus including a die casting machine, a conveyormeans for carrying castings from the cavity of said die casting machineto a plurality of work stations, said die casting machine includingstationary and movable dies defining a cavity thercbetween, said diesincluding a tubular passage having an enlarged portion therein extendingvertically from said die cavity at the interface of said dies to a pointoutside of said dies, a flexible endess chain carrier means mounted oversaid dies for movement transverse to the direction of the movement ofsaid movable die, a bar attached to said endless chain means in aposition transverse to the direction of movement of said carrier meansadapted to be supported over said die cavity in one position of saidcarrier means, a support arm having an enlarged ball-like portionadapted to be snugly received within said tubular passage and to extendinto said cavity when said ball-like portion is received Within saidenlarged portion, means for mounting said support arm on said barpermitting slidable movement of the support arm along said bar andmovement thereof in a planeperpendicular to the longitudinal axis ofsaid bar, a work station positioned below said conveyor means adapted toperform a finishing operation on a casting formed on said support armswhen said casting is located in a predetermined position, said Workstation including a vertical abutment having a ball-like depressiontherein, a,

movable ram adapted to move said ball-like enlarged portion snugly intosaid ball-like depression, said support arm being operative to positiona casting attached thereto in said predetermined position when said rammoves said ball-like portion against thedepression of said abutment.

References Tired in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No 3 ll8 l96January 21 1964 Fred T. Hall et a1.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patentrequiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read ascorrected below.

Column 8 line 26 for "arm" read arms Signed and sealed this 9th day ofJune 1964,

SEAL) Affe'st:

ERNEST w; SWIDER EDWARD J. BRENNER Ai'tes'ting Officer Commissioner ofPatents

8. METAL FORMING APPARATUS INCLUDING A DIE CASTING MACHINE, A CONVEYORMEANS FOR CARRYING CASTINGS FROM THE CAVITY OF SAID DIE CASTING MACHINETO A PLURALITY OF WORK STATIONS, SAID DIE CASTING MACHINE INCLUDINGSTATIONARY AND MOVABLE DIES DEFINING A CAVITY THEREBETWEEN, SAID DIESINCLUDING A PLURALITY OF TUBULAR PASSAGES EACH HAVING AN ENLARGEDPORTION THEREIN EXTENDING VERTICALLY FROM SAID DIE CAVITY AT THEINTERFACE OF SAID DIES TO A POINT OUTSIDE OF SAID DIES, AN ENDLESSFLEXIBLE CARRIER MEANS MOUNTED OVER SAID DIES FOR MOVEMENT TRANSVERSE TOTHE DIRECTION OF THE MOVEMENT OF SAID MOVABLE DIE, A BAR MOUNTED ON SAIDCARRIER MEANS IN A POSITION TRANSVERSE TO THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OFSAID CARRIER MEANS ADAPTED TO BE SUPPORTED OVER SAID DIE CAVITY IN ONEPOSITION OF SAID CARRIER MEANS, A PLURALITY OF SUPPORT ARMS HAVINGENLARGED BALL-LIKE PORTIONS ADAPTED TO BE SNUGLY RECEIVED WITHIN SAIDPASSAGES AND TO EXTEND INTO SAID CAVITY WHEN SAID BALL-LIKE PORTIONS ARERECEIVED WITHIN SAID ENLARGED PORTIONS, MEANS FOR MOUNTING SAID SUPPORTARMS ON SAID BAR PERMITTING SLIDABLE MOVEMENT OF THE SUPPORT ARMS ALONGSAID BAR AND MOVEMENT THEREOF RELATIVE TO SAID BAR IN A DIRECTIONTRANSVERSE TO THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID BAR, AND CONNECTOR MEANSCOUPLING SAID SUPPORT ARM.